Merry Christmas 2009!

Whew! We made it through Christmas '09! My surviving was always questionable, but I didn't realize just how into it Mason would be this year. He almost didn't make it! I guess 3 is the magic number when it comes to Christmas anticipation. He was barely containable for weeks leading up to the big day. He was even singing his heart out "Here comes Santa Claus" over and over (the only words he knew) at the ward Christmas party in order to get Santa to arrive. "Am I singing loud enough mommy?" Unfortunately our camera is awful so we didn't get any good pictures of the kids with Santa this year. Something I am sure will be held against us as the kids get older. Here is the obligatory painting cookies picture. Drew was more into the artistry of it this time, Darcy was excited to be able to sit on the counter and get her hands sticky, and Mason was once again all about eating them, who cares what they look like!

I had plans to make goody plates and distribute them around the neighborhood but after this first batch I felt like my back would break so I bagged the idea. Maybe next year I will be in a better place mentally and physically and can get in to the spirit a little more.

For the last 2 years we have acted out the Nativity scene with our "Little People" sets. I figure the kids get more out of the story this way than by trying to get them to act it out at this age. Paul read the scriptures for us while we had angels dive-bombing the shepherds, but I think the kids got the gist of the story.

I'm not sure what Mason is doing to Darcy here. I think he is just so darn excited to see if Santa would really deliver his "Transformer bad guy" that he just grabbed Darcy and squeezed! I love the look on her face. I have a feeling this will turn into one of my favorite Christmas pictures in the years to come.

Here is Drew making some pottery on her "clay spinner." This is all she asked Santa for this year. I love that she is all about the contained craft projects and not massive toys all over the place. This wheel spins at one speed, S-L-O-W, so she isn't going to create any masterpieces but she has had a good time with it so I guess that's what counts. We also have an island covered with Bendaroo creations which have been a big hit too.

My sweet, loving Darcy received her very own doll from Santa. She hugs and kisses anything she can get her hands on so Santa made a good call when he got her a doll. Hopefully she will be as good to her new baby sister as she is to the doll. Darcy had a fun Christmas and liked to tear the wrapping paper off the gifts.

Paul got an OSU Snuggie! Someone had to get one, right? Paul was the lucky recipient! I got a new set of hand tools which is exactly what I wanted! It is hidden under my bed so I know exactly where to go when I need a screw driver or pliers. I no longer have to get mired down in the abyss we call a garage, searching for tools!

And here is Mason with his pride and joy. This baby took Paul an hour to transform the first time so we try not to do it too often. Mason loves it and I think he had a great Christmas and it was all he hoped it would be. At least, I haven't heard any complaints!

We spent the rest of Christmas day with Paul's family. We did some visiting, some eating, and some present unwrapping before heading for home. It was a lot of hours in the car for one day but right now there is no place like home for me, and especially no place like my own bed! I am thankful Paul is understanding of that right now. We took the tree and decorations down on the 27th and now as soon as we get through my least favorite of all holidays (except for the football games) I can focus totally on my sweet baby due to arrive in 5 weeks!

Happy 7th Anniversary!

Happy anniversary to me! I cannot believe its been 7 years, but I guess I just need to look around at my 3 and 7/9 children to give me the reality check I need! These have been great years and I wouldn't change them for anything. Well, maybe throw in a few more hours of sleep here and there, but on the whole I have been incredibly blessed with a loving, honest, Priesthood holding husband, and healthy, happy, fun kids. Who could really ask for anything more? I love you Paul, thanks for choosing me!

Random Update

Thanksgiving this year was spent with my side of the family at my parents' house. There were 33 of us all squeezed together but it worked out fine. This picture is just a smattering of those in attendance. I didn't get a picture of the table with what I called the stinky boys (those ages 8-18) but you can see there were plenty of us there. Drew was a great helper in my kitchen and practically made the pumpkin rolls by herself.




Grandpa's buttermilk pancakes the morning after Thanksgiving was the feast for my kids. They can't get enough of these and I don't blame them. My kids don't really appreciate all the turkey, potatoes, and pies for some reason. I, on the other hand, love a cold turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce the day after Thanksgiving. YUM!

We waited a week longer than ususal to get our Christmas tree this year. I wasn't sure how Darcy would react to it and I didn't want to battle with her for an extra 7 days. Thankfully she doesn't have much interest in it. She puts her hands behind her back and strolls around the tree, poking her nose in an ornament every once in a while, but she has kept her hands off for the most part. The tree this year is only 8 feet tall, scrawny by our usual standards but still a nice tree.













This is our attempt at a family picture for the Christmas card. As you can see it didn't turn out very well. Kids were out of control, my hormones were out of control, and the camera was out of batteries! This whole process ended in me screaming at everyone and slamming the door to my bedroom, where I hid for a good hour to get myself back together. This being 7+ months pregnant during the holidays is extremely tough. I just wish we could pass them by this year and focus on the impending addition to our family instead. Usually by this time I would have my hospital bag packed, the baby's bed set up, blankets washed and folded, diapers all in a neat little pile, etc. But this time I haven't done any of that. I am afraid January 2nd I will wake up and realize I only have a couple weeks to get my house in order and I know I will be freaking out. Hopefully Paul and the kids can stand living with me for the next 7 weeks!

H1N1-free (hopefully)

We finally got our H1N1 shots for the kids yesterday. I had mine at my last OB appointment a week ago. I had to bribe the kids with a trip to McDonalds afterward, and they all "willingly" walked into the health clinic. Mason went first and was very brave, till he got poked. Then he screwed up his face, let out a wail, and then realized it wasn't so bad and hopped off the chair. Not even a tear was shed. Drew was next and I had to man-handle her to keep her in the chair. She screwed up her face and let out a wail, and like her brother, decided it wasn't so bad and hopped off the chair. Not a tear was shed! Then poor Darcy got her shot in her leg because the nurse thought she had pretty "meaty" legs (sorry Darcy!) and she let out a wail and then decided it wasn't so bad. 3 shots and 3 tear-free kids. I was tempted to skip McDonalds since they weren't that traumatized but then I fugured we would have tears for real. I didn't have the heart to tell them that we have to repeat this whole ordeal in 28 days when they get their second dose! I am extremely grateful that we all stayed healthy prior to the vaccines and hopefully this nasty bug will pass us by.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. We love to decorate and usher in the next few months of too much candy, commercialism, and "I WANT THAT!" This year Drew and I found a picture of a jellyfish in a magazine for creating your own "easy" costumes. I'm sure it would have been easy if I had made it without 3 kids all over me trying to be helpers, all while suffering through the worst of my itchy rash. That's what made it fun though! After all the money and time spent on it I vow never to make another one. Whatever Wal Mart may charge is money well spent in my book. It turned out cute though and she got lots of comments on it, including "what are you supposed to be? Strawberry shortcake?" Come on people! Mason's Darth Vader outfit held out, through 2 months of constantly adorning his body, night and day. I was afraid it just might not last but the costume made it and I told him he could wear it to shreds now if he wanted to. He hasn't put it on since Halloween! Darcy was a cozy little monkey with the cutest tail but she chose to sit in her stroller all night so no one got to see it. For the first time we dropped in on Trunk-or-Treat at the church. I always thought the kids were more interested in the fun of knocking on doors and not so much the candy but I was wrong. They have been stuffing their little bodies with candy every time I turn around. I don't put restrictions on it, when its gone, its gone, which it looks like tomorrow will be the last of it, but I do make sure they scrub those little teeth. I have to keep up my illusion of being a good mom. Mason tired out and skipped the last few doors Drew was still knocking on as we made our way home to an empty bowl of candy on the front porch. We had to break out the good candy bars for those who came a little later. I was hoping to save the chocolate for myself.

Here are our creations. Both our pumpkin masterpieces and our beautiful children! Check out Darcy, she looks like she just saw a ghost!

This is my guy. I was going for Darcy's favorite new expression, open mouthed and wide eyed at a new discovery, but he looked more like he needed to vomit so I obliged.

Here is our family represented in pumpkins. And if you ask Drew, the one I carved looks like me lately, always with my mouth open yelling at my kids.

Getting ready to carve! When I grew up we had one pumpkin and my dad always did the carving. I'm starting to think that isn't such a bad idea.

And of course the annual "painting" of the cookies. Mason downed them as fast as we could get them frosted. That is one of my favorite parts, making cookies.

On another note, it seems we have made it through the first wave of sickness hitting our friends. I don't know how that's possible but I am extremely grateful. All three kids have had a cough but that's as bad as it got. Last Friday I took the kids to the health center to hopefully get us all an H1N1 shot, and I was assured as I filled out the paperwork that there would still be shots left. We stood in line for 35 minutes, in the cold and wet, and they finally told us they were out. Gee thanks. I was more than frustrated because of the able bodied men I had watched get their shots in front of a pregnant woman with 3 kids under 5, the highest risk groups. They said they were supposed to get more in 2 weeks so if we are still healthy by that time I will probably try it again. Wish me luck.

Fall Fun

Saturday we headed out to Sauvie Island to the Pumpkin Patch! It was a beautiful day and also a Saturday so we were in quite a crowd. They had a few tractors making runs out to the pumpkins so we didn't have to wait long to search for the perfect pumpkins.

Drew and Mason hiked around the field with Paul looking for just the right pumpkin to call their own. Darcy and I stayed in our little area since she STILL isn't walking! Holy cow, girl! You are 15+ months old! Get a move on! So she crawled around in the pokey field and probably hated every minute of it. Sorry Darcy, its your own fault!

She looks extremely thrilled as you can see. We were able to find pumpkins for everyone, navigate the kids' maze, and climb the hay pyramid and laugh as Drew tried to give Mason a boost and then jump for the top herself. Paul eventually gave in and helped them up. It was pretty funny though. Drew saw the "Field of Screams" entrance and thought she would like to visit a haunted house this year. This from the girl who woke me up last night because she had a bad dream about her stuffed hippo. Not gonna happen Drew. She's a bigger scaredy cat than I am.

Our porch is now being guarded by 5 orange spheres. Too bad they weren't there a few nights ago when someone tried to get into the house. I woke up at 3am to knocking on the back of the house and then the sounds of someone trying to open the sliding door. I was pretty well knocked out so I didn't realize what was going on really until I heard a knock at the front door and the sound of the doorknob being turned. I was so scared! I just laid there and tried to be as quiet as possible, but of course I had to use the potty so I was stealthily crawling to the bathroom to avoid the huge window we have there. The thought didn't even cross my mind to call the police till about a half hour later. I finally fell asleep and dreamed an appliance delivery guy was delivering ugly cream colored appliances at 3am and Paul said we had to keep them. I need to work on my emergency management skills I guess.

The major rash I talked about in my last post has finally gone away I think. I only had to use my medicine for 5 days thankfully. I still am pretty itchy but it is much more manageable than before with the rash. I still have no idea what caused it.

Here is my young Jedi after a long day of fighting the dark side. Even though he is the dark side, literally! This poor costume is on Mason's body morning, noon, and, night. Luckily we haven't had any major accidents with the light saber yet.

Drew is doing great at school. She comes home with those darn Mustang Award stickers a couple times a week. She says its for standing quietly with her hands to herself in line, or on the rug at reading time. I am proud of her but also wish she would live a little! Jeez girl, cause some mischief! I was a little brown noser/teacher's pet when I was her age and I remember how some kids used to make fun of me. I guess I shouldn't fault her for her obedience, and I should enjoy it with this kid because I can pretty much guarantee her little brother will not be receiving the awards quite as often! But, that's what makes life fun I guess.

FRUSTRATION!

For the past 4+ weeks I have been SUFFERING through a horrible rash. I contemplated posting pictures but decided no one really wants to see that. Just picture your entire upper body (neck and arms included) broken out in such a dense, red rash that it looks like the worst sun burn of your life. That was me. Now imagine the worst itching you have ever experienced, multiply it by ten, and the fact that there is no satisfying the itch, and there you have my life for the past month. AHHHHHH!!!!! My OB scared the life out of me by suggesting it was my liver malfunctioning, which can lead to serious complications or even stillbirth. So for a week I was freaking out about it, waiting for the call from my doctor on my blood test, until I had finally had enough and called them to find out the results, which were thankfully negative. But I still itched! I saw a dermatologist who took a look at me for 2 seconds, wouldn't listen to a word I had to say, and diagnosed it as being allergic to something I wasn't allergic to before. Use this expensive lotion, throw out all products at home and get all new stuff. And use this steroid cream even though you are pregnant. Can you tell I am not thrilled with my doctors at this point? I left his office sobbing. I went to Wal Mart to get the prescription filled, sat there for 45 minutes, asked 3 times if it was ready, and finally a lady pokes her head around the corner, "Oh, didn't anyone tell you? We don't have enough of the product so we have to order more. Come back tomorrow." AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I left the store sobbing. The next day I finally got my prescription at 4 and the pharmacist practically screamed at me not to use the product because I am pregnant. I left the store sobbing once again. After a call to my OB's office and my sister who had been on steroids her whole pregnancy, I felt that I could safely use the product if I use it sparingly. That night though, I gave Benadryl a try to see if it really was an allergic reaction. Nope! I woke up itching and sobbing for 2.5 hours because I couldn't get back to sleep. That was par for the course for many nights actually. For the past 3 days now I have been using the ointment and the major redness has gone away but the underlying itch is still there. I don't know what happens when I stop using the ointment, hopefully soon, but I do know I can't survive 17 more weeks of this horror. My poor kids and husband already had to deal with a cranky pregnant mom/wife, and this has just been a hundred times worse. Sorry guys! And I have been a hermit, much more than usual ;), because I can't move without wanting to rip my skin off and run screaming away! Hopefully things will settle down now that the major rash is being taken care of. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I will gladly listen to them. They ruled out the most common pregnancy rash, PUPPP, so we have no idea what this is. Hopefully this too shall pass and I can look back and laugh about it (yah right) but I wouldn't wish this condition on my worst enemy.